Agena Bioscience today introduced new targeted research panels for the detection of somatic mutations from lung and colon cancers. The UltraSEEK™ Lung and Colon Panels enable detection of mutations as low as 0.1% minor allele frequency (MAF) from circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). The iPLEX® HS Lung and Colon Panels enable detection of mutations as low as 1% MAF from solid tumor tissue. The new panels are now commercially available worldwide.

Mutation profiling of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) can be challenging due to the difficulties in obtaining a biopsy, which is often a small, heterogeneous sample with limited tumor content. In addition, the complex nature of the disease requires frequent, real-time monitoring to detect secondary mutations which confer acquired resistance to therapy. To help overcome these challenges and advance clinical science, Agena Bioscience has developed new lung and colon cancer panels, for use on the MassARRAY® System, which detect mutations as low as 0.1% MAF from minimal input DNA.

With a low limit of detection, the panels enable mutation profiling of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating tumor cells (CTC) from plasma, in addition to solid tumor tissue. The highly multiplexed panels target mutations of known significance in BRAF, EGFR, ERBB2, KRAS, NRAS, and PIK3CA genes, and can work with DNA extracted from a single, 10 mL blood draw. With high detection sensitivity and broad coverage, the panels offer a complete solution, from initial stratification to monitoring disease progression.

A clinical research study using the iPLEX HS Lung Panel was conducted in collaboration with The Medical Foundation, using NSCLC solid tumor samples and a limit of detection of 1% MAF. The higher analytical sensitivity of the iPLEX HS panel, compared to other methods with a 5-10% MAF, resulted in an approximately 10% increase in the number of clinically significant mutations detected. Similar results were obtained for colorectal adenocarcinoma samples, where there was an increase of about 6% in the number of mutations detected.

These lung and colon cancer panels provide robust and cost-effective mutational profiling across a range of sample types, including liquid biopsies, and are ideal for laboratories translating discoveries from clinical research to higher throughput testing. Additional studies using UltraSEEK and iPLEX HS chemistries are referenced on the company’s website.

About Agena Bioscience

Agena Bioscience develops, manufactures, and supplies genetic analysis systems and reagents, including the MassARRAY® System. The system is a highly sensitive, cost-effective, mass spectrometry-based platform for high-throughput genetic analysis, and is used globally in diverse research fields such as cancer profiling for solid tumors and liquid biopsies, inherited genetic disease testing, pharmacogenetics, agricultural genomics, and clinical research.